Life is a beach here in Long Beach, California. But that doesn't mean there's no room for improvement. Follow us for great advice, how-tos, and tricks and tips on home repairs, improvements and decorating, perfectly tailored for the residents of our great community! Brought to you by your friends at Long Beach Snappy Plumbing. For 20 years, we've offered the best emergency plumbing services in town, and at the lowest prices.

Wednesday, November 26, 2014

If you’re thinking about remodeling a kitchen or bathroom, you’ll have some choices to make before deciding on the best approach for these two important areas of your house.

With kitchen remodels, often homeowners start with a search for upgraded appliances. Others begin by formulating a plan for overall design choices from cabinets to lighting to faucets; or by finding the right professional help for electrical work, plumbing, and carpentry.

With bathrooms, homeowners may choose a complete overall or focus on basics like new shower head installation or a new bathroom sink installation. Most homeowners should start with the most basic needs: toilet, tub, and sink. From there, selecting faucets, shower heads, cabinets, mirrors and more will fall into place. Consider types of sinks and tubs available, for example fiberglass versus porcelain and tile, counter top sinks versus drop-in sinks. For limited space, a pedestal or wall-mounted sink can fit the bill if a counter or vanity are not necessary. As to toilets, it’s all about comfort, efficiency, and water-saving capabilities as well as style.

How about tubs? Homeowners may want to consider jets and tub depth. Standard length and depth is not the only choice in tubs in today’s marketplace. Options abound and can be quite cost-effective.

While remodeling can be a big step, at Long Beach Snappy Plumbing in Long Beach, CA, we know that sometimes even consistent plumbing service and careful drain cleaning won’t prevent clogged toilet repair when a fixture is aging. And in the kitchen, garbage disposal repair shouldn’t become a regular occurrence; worn, stained, or leaking sinks mean it’s time for a kitchen sink replacement. Remodels were once-upon-a-time considered a time consuming headache, and while certainly time and cost are still factors, the benefits to be gained, as well as new and efficient replacement techniques, make this a more than viable option.

Wednesday, November 12, 2014

When an earthquake occurs, the shaking to a home can cause damage to both gas pipes and appliances, damage that can result in natural gas leaks, fires, and explosions. Earthquakes can’t be prevented, but fires from broken gas lines certainly can be. The installation of a shutoff valve can put a help to lower the pervasive fire risk, one that is a major factor in one out of four fires following an earthquake. In Long Beach, CA having an automatic earthquake shutoff valve for natural gas lines makes a lot of sense.

Of course, while we at Long Beach Snappy Plumbing believe that earthquake and over-surge protection can be a real life-saver, it is also vitally important to reduce the possibility of a gas leak with regular gas line and appliance maintenance, as well as repair when necessary. Electronic gas line leak detection is yet another important safety tool.

Make sure your water heater and all appliances that use natural gas are anchored, and that they utilize flexible pipe connections. Flexible pipes are very important, as much gas line plumbing uses decidedly unflexible black iron piping. An earthquake can all too easily break the joints in these types of pipes, and flood a home with flammable gas. There are several kinds of shut off valves, including valves that are earthquake-activated, excess flow valves, methane detectors, and manual shut-offs, as well as methane detectors. Both earthquake activated valves and excess flow valves should be state certified and installed on the house line that connects your meter to your actual gas.

Is it hard to install these valves? No. When an earthquake hits with a larger than 5.4 magnitude, a seismic actuator releases, and gas is prevented from entering your house. In short: a simple and effective way to reduce danger when an earthquake occurs.